Islamist-led rebels overran Damascus in a lightning assault on Sunday, driving President Bashar al-Assad out of the country and bringing the Assad family's 50-year grip on Syria to a dramatic end.
Russian state news agencies were reporting that President Bashar Assad and his family had arrived in Moscow and were given asylum. Russia said Assad left the country after negotiations with rebel groups and that he had given instructions to transfer power peacefully.
The Syrian capital woke up on Sunday to chanting, cheering and celebratory gunfire following the fall of Assad. Rebels led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) announced they had entered the city and toppled the longtime ruler. State media broadcast a declaration of his overthrow and reported a mass release of detainees.
Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, a former al-Qaida commander who cut ties with the group years ago leads HTS, the biggest rebel faction in Syria, and is poised to chart the country’s future. He made his first public appearance since fighters entered the Damascus suburbs, at the capital’s sprawling Umayyad Mosque, and called himself by his given name, Ahmad al-Sharaa. He said Assad’s fall was “a victory to the Islamic nation.”
Syrians around the country toppled and trampled on statues of Bashar al-Assad's late father Hafez, who founded the brutal system of government that his son inherited.
In Damascus, people cheered as they stood on a toppled statue of former president Hafez al-Assad, in a highly symbolic moment for a country ruled with an iron fist by his clan.
The scenes came as Islamist-led rebels wrested city after city from his control, culminating with their arrival in Damascus.
After five decades in power, most Syrians are too young to remember a time when the country was not ruled by the Assads.
Russia, a staunch ally of al-Assad, confirmed on Sunday that the Syrian president had resigned following negotiations with the sides involved in the conflict and had left the country, without saying where to.
"As a result of talks between B Assad and a range of participants of the conflict on the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic, he took the decision to resign from his presidential post and leave the country, giving instructions to proceed with the peaceful transfer of power," Russia's foreign ministry said. "Russia did not take part in these talks."
Meanwhile, Dozens of Syrians explored Assad's luxurious Damascus home after it was looted on Sunday, an AFP correspondent said, following the fall of the capital to rebel forces.
Women, children and men could be seen touring the home and its large garden, with the rooms completely empty, save some furniture and a portrait of Assad thrown on the floor. "I came for revenge; they oppressed us in incredible ways," Abu Omar, 44, told AFP.
"I am taking pictures because I am so happy to be here in the middle of his house," he added, showing photographs on his mobile phone.
The residence in the upscale al-Maliki neighbourhood comprises three six-storey buildings.
How did Assad flee?
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said Assad left on a private plane that took off from Damascus international airport at 10:00 pm (1900 GMT) on Saturday night, without specifying where he headed.
After that, the army and security forces pulled out of the airport, with commercial flights already suspended earlier, added the Britain-based Observatory, which relies on a network of sources on the ground.
The rebels, who began a lightning offensive on October 27, quickly announced they had toppled "tyrant" Assad and that Damascus was a "free" city, calling on millions of Syrians who fled the war for safety abroad to return home.
Assad's location was not clear on Sunday morning, but Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP there were three main possibilities.
The first was that Assad headed to Russia, which over the years has provided key military, political and diplomatic support for the Syrian leader, including with its air power.
Second that he fled to his other main ally Iran, which has sent military advisers to Syria and supported fighters, including from Lebanon's Hezbollah, who have been on the battlefield alongside government soldiers.
The third option, Abdel Rahman said, is that Assad went to the United Arab Emirates, the first Arab Gulf country to restore broken ties with Damascus in 2018 after they were severed following the war's outbreak in 2011.
However, there is speculation that a plane allegedly carrying Assad was shot down or crashed while attempting to leave Damascus. There has been no official confirmation.
What about the Syrian army?
As news of Assad's departure spread, army soldiers in various parts of the capital Damascus began shedding their military clothes, according to AFP.
One eyewitness, requesting anonymity, told AFP they saw dozens of military vehicles abandoned in the upscale Mazzeh district, home to military and security headquarters, embassies and United Nations offices.
The army has not issued an official statement, but soldiers told AFP they were told to leave their positions, with one saying "our direct superior told us to leave and go home, so we knew it was over."
On the highway between the central city of Homs and Damascus, an AFP correspondent saw hundreds of soldiers gathered near rebel checkpoints.
Hundreds of soldiers and rebel fighters have been killed since the offensive began, with fierce battles in the country's north particularly in the first few days. But government forces withdrew from their positions with no major resistance in some areas, according to the Observatory.
The rebels swiftly took control of several strategic cities within days, starting from second city Aleppo, then central Hama and Homs before marching on the capital.
Thirteen years of civil war have exhausted Syria's military equipment and army, which has lost around half of its personnel, estimated at 300,000 before 2011.
In recent days, analysts have emphasised the military's weakness on the battlefield, without effective Russian or Iranian support.
Who holds power?
Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed al-Jalali, who took up the post in September, said in a message broadcast on his Facebook page that he was ready to "cooperate" with the leadership chosen by the Syrian people and for any handover procedures.
The rebel factions announced a "new era" in Syria.
The leader of Syrian rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, ordered forces Sunday not to approach official institutions in Damascus, saying they would remain under the prime minister until they are officially handed over.
In the statement on Telegram, Jolani used his real name Ahmed al-Sharaa instead of his more well-known nom de guerre.
With the army's collapse in areas it controlled, including around critical facilities, the rebels and other armed groups who control swathes of the country face major challenges.
Mohanad Hage Ali from the Carnegie Middle East Center said on X, that "the main challenge today lies in re-building the Syrian state and shifting from the chaos and fragmentation phase."
"Until now, the factions have shown awareness in dealing with minorities and prisoners," he said, amid hope this could help translate "into the reconstruction of state institutions."
